Alea iacta est
by LaraCarter
Summary: Sands founds himself in a situation where he has to trust a complete stranger, he's somwhere in limbo, not able to remain in Mexico and not really able to get back to the States and on top of that he's blind. Is this woman going to help him or will she prove to be as dangerous as Ajedrez?
1. Rude awakening

For anyone who might stumble over this story and reads it:

1\. Text between ~~ signifies that it should be in Spanish. Because I don't know Spanish and I don't trust Google Translate I decided that it would be better to keep to English, which also is not my first language.

2\. This is probably a dead fandom, but I still hope that my story will bring a little joy to a few people.

3\. I really hope it won't be too much like the other Sands/OC kind of story. I'll try to make it original.

* * *

She was passed out on the couch. She couldn't make it to her bedroom last night, well more like early morning. She was still wearing the short dress and her high heels, her make up was all over her face, the lipstick smudged lower than her actual bottom lip, mascara clinging to her cheeks and not so much to her eyelashes.

She was having a dreamless sleep, actually more like a coma than a sleep, if someone would have looked at her in that moment they would feel the urge to check for vitals to see if she was still alive.

Loud banging in her door and a faint calling of her name were creeping in her comatose mind. The banging was getting louder and louder and her name was becoming clearer.

~Miss Lina, Miss Lina, open please! I need help!~

She opened her eyes slowly, but closed them again right away. The light was too much, she took the ornamental pillow and she put it on her face, but the banging didn't stop it just got more desperate.

"Fine, I'm up. I'm coming. Damn it!" Lina got off the couch and swayed on her feet, she found her sunglasses on the coffee table and she shoved them on her face as high as she could.

She got to the door in what seemed ages, heading in the direction of the banging and starting to discern different bangs in the background, but she ignored them _'Probably I'm hearing the echo.'_

"What in the hell is wrong with you?" she hissed when she opened the door.

In front of her there was a small boy, the small boy that was selling chewing gum on the streets, the small boy that she always liked and always helped out and that helped her out in numerous occasions.

~OH! It's you. What's wrong?~ she saw commotion far away on the streets and she realized that the small bangs she was hearing weren't a product of her hangovered brain but that of guns being fired. ~What the fuck is going on out there?~

~It's a revolution. You have to come. There is a man that needs help. He's very wounded.~

* * *

Sands was leaning on the wall, thinking at how he's plan has failed, miserably considering that he ended up with no eyes. And the bullet wounds weren't helping the situation. _'Where the hell did that kid go? He said he's getting help. I hope he understood when I said 'no hospitals'. Damn it! Where the fuck is he? He said he'll be right back.'_

He was getting tired, he felt how he was slipping slowly lower on the wall. _'Fuck it! It's better if he doesn't come! Who knows what kind of an idiot he brings. It might even be too much work for me, if the guy he's bringing starts asking questions I'm gonna shoot the fucker and just crawl somewhere to die!'_

He could hear the bicycle again and high heels running along the bicycle. _'Great, he brought a woman. She's gonna start firing questions in a heartbeat.'_

~Slow down! Perfect day to have the car in the shop.~ Lina screamed after the boy that started speeding up when he saw Sands.

She finally reached the man that was leaning on that wall like it was the only thing that kept him up. It probably was. She stopped in front of him and she bent over, her hands over her knees, breathing heavily.

"Right. Well you're in worse shape than I thought. I've got good news and bad news. Which do you prefer to hear first?" Lina said between breathes.

Sands realized right away that she wasn't Mexican, she had an English accent, posh English. He's mind started working, why would a English woman would be here? Culiacan wasn't necessarily the most touristic city in Mexic.

"Easy there, chica! First off all who are you and second, do you have any medical experience?"

"Lina. Yes. Now, we could stay here and chat or we could start treating those wounds. Your choice. Actually not really. If you just want to chat then I'm off and back to sleep."

He noticed the bluntness of her answers. She wasn't trying to be nice to him, she didn't seem concerned and there was no compassion in her voice. That made him curious, very curious. What kind of a person could be so cold when faced with a wounded man.

"Sleep? It's like four in the afternoon." He said trying to get a little more from her. Considering she was wearing high heels and that she sounded like someone who really did just woke up, it could only mean she was out partying and now she was hangover, but he wanted to get that from her. He wanted to see how easy it was to get information from her. After all he's life depended now more than ever to being able to get people talking, because now he couldn't count on reading body language and paying attention to visual details.

"No it's not." She checked her watch, it was 16:45. "Oh, shit!"

She didn't bite it. She didn't feel the need to explain.

"Exactly! Al right then, chica, start with the bad news and then get to the good ones." Sands decided that he'll have to trust the kid and let her help him, because he started feeling the pain growing stronger and he knew that he won't be able to stay there much longer.

"Why did you ask my name, if you're not going to use it? Nevermind. Bad news I don't have a car at the moment, cause it's in the shop, good news I can get one. Bad news, whatever drug you're on, that kept you up for as long as you have, with the wounds you sustained, it's going to start to wear off pretty soon, good news I can get painkillers fast. Bad news, I have zero experience in damaged eyes, good news I'm confident that I can get some information about how to treat those kind of wounds." Lina talked fast, no emotions, just pure information, it was like she was reading a report.

"And what exactly makes you think that my eyes are damaged, doll?" he asked, with he's smooth voice that hid a warning, warning that Lina didn't miss.

She scoffed "The amount of blood that's on your face and the direction from which it poured, points to your eyes. Also when I started talking to you, you adjusted your head a little, so you could hear me and identify the exact direction that I'm in, in case you decided that I'm a threat and you had to shoot me. If you could see, you wouldn't have done that. I got the message sir, one wrong move and I'm dead."

"Smart girl!"

~Miss Lina, you promised me.~ The boy pleaded seeing that neither one of the adults were doing anything to get the man fixed.

~Yes. And I never brake my promises.~ Lina ruffled the kids hair and then she turned back to the dark man. "I've got just one question?"

 _'_ _Here it comes! Later than I thought, but still coming.'_ "What's the question?"

"Am I going to help you or not?"

"Shouldn't you ask yourself that? Also you apparently promised that you will and you just said that you don't break your promises."

"I don't break them, but you don't seem very willing to let me help you. All I'm waiting is a clear statement from you. After all, you don't think I'm going to try and carry you without your consentment considering the number of guns you're carrying."

Sands smirked, her tone was matter of fact, no fear, just reason. He liked that, but it also made him apprehensive, because people like her could be dangerous.

"How far it's your place?" he asked.

"Too far for you to get there on foot."

He didn't like that she was being vague, but the pain was starting to be unbearable.

"You said you can get a car. How fast can you do that?"

"Ok, the plan is this. I go, get a car and medical supplies, come here get you and then we can go back to my place, where I can take care of those wounds and you can rest. I think that if I leave right now I'll be back in fifteen minutes."

Sands pondered for a few seconds before nodding his head. He heard her getting away from him, he hoped that she was going to get the car and that she wasn't in fact running away, sort of speak. He turned his head towards the boy.

"Who is she?"

~She comes here once a year, always at the end of October and stays all the month of November. She helped me and my family a lot. She's a very good lady. She bought me this bicycle when my old one was stolen.~

"That's great kid, but who is she? What does she do?"

~I don't know. She just comes here and goes to the cemetery and then she just … I don't know. She strolls around town, at the library. She reads to me a lot. She said that maybe she will teach me how to talk English. But she said maybe, she didn't promise.~

"To the cemetery? Does she have family there?"

~No. She said that a friend and her goddaughter are buried there. Sir, she's going to make you better. She helped others before.~

"Other's? Who?"

They heard a car approaching. "Who is it?" Sands asked turning his head towards the car.

~Miss Lina. She seems angry.~

The car stopped and Lina opened her door with a loud bang. "Let's go, sir." She said getting close to him. She took he's uninjured arm and she put it around her shoulders, while she took her right arm and placed it securely around his waist hoisting him up.

"Not afraid that I'm going to shoot you anymore?" Sands asked rhetorically.

"I don't have time for that shit right now. You can shoot me later. Damn you're heavier than I imagined." Lina said almost bucking under his weight. They made a few steps towards the car but Lina stopped. "Wait a second, I can't do this, like this." Sands was getting ready to chew her off for tallying, when he felt her drop lower under his arm, that was holding on her shoulders. He realized that she took her shoes off.

~Get the shoes and throw them on the back seat.~ She said to the boy who was quick in doing so.

Lina managed to get Sands in the car without hurting him more, she ran on the other side and she got in. She turned back at the kid telling him to go home and to keep quiet about everything, then she started the car.

"Where did you get the car?" Sands asked, more out of curiosity and hoping that if he occupied his mind with questioning her, he will be able to ignore the pain better.

"From the street."

"You stole it?"

"Really? I'm getting an ethics lecture from a guy who clearly has killed some people throughout his life or at least today?" Lina asked pissed off.

"No. No lecture. It's just not a very common thing. Of all the people that kid could bring to help, he brought a woman that's a car thief." He was hoping that she will open up and say what was her line of work, he was counting on the fact she was angry and he thought that she might not be as careful with her words in the given situation.

"I'm not a car thief, I also stole the medical supply, yet I'm not a thief in general. We're almost there."

"Well, sugarbutt, I'm sorry to be the one to breaks this to you, but if you stole a car and medical supplies, that definitely makes you a thief."

"No, it makes me resourceful. I needed a car, I got one, I needed medical supplies, I got them. That's that. We're here."

"Here where?"

"Blvd. Francisco I. Madero 137B. That's what you wanted right? An address?" Sands turned his head towards her and smiled, Lina didn't like that smile, she didn't like it at all. It wasn't a genuine smile, it seemed more like a challenge, like he was saying – I'm going to break you down –. She ignored it, she got out of the car and helped him inside, she wasn't looking forward to taking care of his wounds, because she knew all too well how those hurt.


	2. Getting acquainted

Sands felt the edge of the bed, that Lina lead him to, and he laid down. She got his feet up and she left the room. "I'll be right back, I'm bringing the bandages."

He heard her bare feet on the wood floor, some rummaging and then the sound of something being wheeled in the room. The sounds of the street were very muffled, but he could hear that the revolution he started was still going on. She got the drinks trolley next to the bed, she had already arranged all the medical supplies on it. Then she pulled a chair and she sat down. She stayed there in silence for a few seconds.

"What are you doing?" Sands asked, he was starting to become paranoid. Her attitude was strange, he thought. He was having doubts about her mental health.

"I'm trying to assess the situation. Right, I'll start with the wounds in your thighs." She answered and took some scissors in her hands, but when she touched the brim of Sands pants he stopped her.

"You better not be doing what I think you're doing."

"I have to cut them. How else am I going to get to the wounds?"

"Take them off. I want to keep my pants in one piece."

"They already have bullet holes in them."

"Listen here, sugarbutt, you either take them off or fuck off."

He heard her place the scissors back on the table and the small sigh that escaped her lips. He was half expecting her to leave, but he realized that she wasn't the type to give up that easily when he felt her hands unbuckling his belt. He smiled "Take your time, I want to enjoy these considering it's been awhile for me."

She didn't respond, she unbuttoned his pants and pulled down the fly, then she gently pulled his pants down, Sands hissed when she reached the wounds, but she didn't stop, nor made any comment about it. She pulled them all the way down and stopped when she reached his shoes. She took the shoes of and then his pants, which she threw on the floor.

She was moving quickly, she cleaned the wounds and applied pressure to stop the bleeding. After she managed to do so, she stitched the wounds up, only talking to inform Sands about the next step. After she finished with both of those wounds she dressed them up and she took two pillows from a dresser that was across the room and she placed them under his feet, making him a little more confortable.

"Do you have the same request about your shirt, as for your pants, or I can cut this one up?" Lina asked when she was done with the legs.

"You're not going to cut anything up." He responded, he would have liked to make some lewd comments to her, but by now his pain was very hard to ignore and the painkillers she gave him didn't start taking effect yet.

Lina unbuttoned his vest and his shirt, then she helped him in a sitting position so she could take them off. She moved on the other side of the bed and climbed up, the bed being a very large one and Sands sitting with his wounded arm towards the center of the bed, she had to change her position, not wanting to work over him, making things more difficult for her.

"I'm good, got you in bed after an hour since we've met." Sands said smirking.

"Yet, you're in such a state that you can't do much to impress me." Lina responded for the first time to his innuendos.

"Don't be so sure, doll." He said turning his head towards her. "Listen, there should be some cigarettes in there somewhere, would you be so kind?" he continued, waving his good hand towards where he heard her dumping his clothes.

Lina got off the bed, she found the cigarettes and she placed them in his outstretched hand, he took them and got one out placing it between his lips, waiting for her to give him his lighter too, but she just took the lighter and lit the cigarette for him.

She moved around the bed and climb back up starting to clean his arm wound, following the same steps as she did on his legs. When she was done she got up and gathered all the dirty bandages throwing them in a basket. She retook her position on the chair next to the bed and she reached for his glasses, but stopped mid movement.

"I'll have to look under those glasses to figure out how I'm going to proceed next."

"I don't think so, sugarbutt!"

"And how do you propose to have me clean those wounds without getting your sunglasses off?"

"You won't."

"That's not an alternative. I promised the kid I won't let you die, which means I have to keep those wounds clean so they won't develop an infection, infection that will kill you."

"For now I'm good, but I can't handle a freak out, so leave those alone for the time being."

"Aah. You think I'll freak out. Well, I've seen a lot of fucked up shit in my life, injured or missing eyes are not even on the list of the worst situations I've faced."

"Not gonna happen. Now get me something to drink."

"Listen …. Sir. You can either cooperate and it's going to be smooth sailing or you don't and then I'll have to roughen you up and get you tied up and immobile."

"You're not scaring me, sugar, I may be wounded, but I'm still stronger than you, and let's not forget I'm the one with the guns."

"One, you assume you're stronger than me, but you have no proof, two, you assume that you're the only one with a gun and three, I don't need a gun, nor to be stronger than you to immobilize you, a jab of a powerful sedative in your body and you would be down fast."

Sands grabbed Lina by the back of her head and got her close to his face, he was expecting her to put up a fight, to try to escape the grip he had on her hair, but she didn't she just listened to what he was saying.

"You're not getting near my fucking eye holes or I'll put a bullet right through your head."

"Very well, than you can leave." She answered simply. Sands could feel her breath on his face, he could smell mint, assuming she was chewing gum, he didn't let go of her hair.

"You made a promise to the kid."

"Well, life's a bitch, sometimes people screw you and they fail to keep their promises. Sooner he learns it better for him." Lina answered, she grabbed Sands hand that was still holding her hair and she removed it from her head. She got up and she said "I don't half do shit. I either do something or I don't. And if I start something I'm going to finish. But considering you don't want to let me do my job properly I prefer not to finish than do something poorly. You either let me treat you all the way and get assured you get a proper recovery or you just get out and leave and die on the street."

Sands thought about it, he knew that if he left in his state he would either die of an infection, or if there were others looking for him, he might get killed. After all, if she was so confident that she could handle the view why not let her, she did a very good job with the other wounds. By the way she moved and the speed with which she managed to get him stitched and dressed she clearly had experience.

"Very well, but you better not start crying." He said to her, doubting that she would actually react that way.

He took his glasses off and waited, but he couldn't hear anything, no gasp, no sigh, nothing, he started wondering if she left and he just didn't hear it. After a few seconds of total silence she whispered "What kind of sick bastard would do something like this?"

"That would be a bitch." He replied. He heard her moving away from the bed _'Great. She's freaking out. What happened with –I don't half do shit? – fucking idiot.'_ But then he realized that she didn't leave the room, she was moving stuff, sounded like she was taking books out from a shelf, and that was exactly what she was doing, he could hear her turning pages and mumbling "Where did I read that? Right, right, corneal abrasions, no, subconjunctival hemorrhage, no, orbital blowout fracture, no, this eye gouging."

"They've been drilled, not gouged." Sands told her realizing that she was looking for his situation in a medical book probably.

"I'm not going to find that in here. Well, I guess the best bet is to go with my instincts, and they tell me this is going to hurt like hell." She sat back on the chair and propped the open book on his abdomen. She took some gauze that she put some saline solution and she started to wipe his face. This time she was moving much slower, still confident on her movements, but gentler, almost as if she was caressing his face. After she finished cleaning his face, she stopped

"Are you ready?"

"I don't think this is something you can get ready for so you may just go for it."

She took another gauze and she started to work as gentle as she could, she felt his hand touching her thigh, but she didn't say anything, she just hoped that it will be distraction enough from the pain. Sands felt the warm skin of her leg, at first he did it just to annoy her and he was getting quite cocky when he realized that she wasn't stopping him, but when she finally got to his actual sockets the pain was unbearable, he squeezed her thigh very hard, his teeth were gritting and his breathing got louder.

 _'_ _He's going to leave me a bruise, that's sure. And I still have one more eye socket to clean'_ Lina thought while she kept cleaning, despite that her thigh was throbbing. When she got to the other socket she felt his hand relax, the grip loosening ending in his hand just resting on her leg.

Sands passed out, Lina finished up, she bandaged his head, covering his eye sockets, then she set up an IV and she covered him with a blanket. She made sure that he was breathing regularly, before cleaning up the room and heading for a shower.

She was exhausted, she needed coffee and food and some more coffee and even though she would have preferred to get to sleep she just couldn't let him unsupervised. So after she finished her shower and changed her clothes, she made coffee and a sandwich and she went back in the room where Sands was still out.

 _'_ _I wonder who this guy is? American, definitely not a tourist, involved with the cartel maybe, no ID's in his pockets, he's smart, fishing for information, he's also very attractive. Ok, calm down, that information is not important, Catalina. It's not going to give you any clue on who he is or what he's doing here. So we ignore that last bit. The revolution, the kid said the cartel was dead, did this guy had anything to do with it? That's why El was in town. I should have thought that if he's in town something will go down. Back to the hot stranger in my bed. No, we won't call him that, what are you? A bitch in heat?'_

Catalina kept watch while trying to figure out more, but she didn't have much to count on. Later the kid showed up, he wanted to see the man and to check that she was keeping her promise. She decided to question the boy.

~So tell me Manuel, where did you met this man?~

~He bought gum for me, he gave me a lot of money.~

~Who is he?~

~I don't know.~

~Then why did you made me promise I'll save his sorry ass?~

~I … I don't know. I like him. He helped me.~

~Great. That's just great. You know you did chose the best moment to get a promise out of me. If this would have happened yesterday I would have said no.~

~But you will help him, right? You'll keep your promise?~

~Yeah, don't worry kid, I don't back down.~

The boy left and Catalina decided that she should do something to keep busy, she didn't want to fall asleep so she started cleaning up. After a while her phone rang.

"Yeah." She answered while pacing the hallway.

"Hey Lin. What are you doing? You sound tired."

"I am tired. I partied a little too hard. How are you?"

"I'm fine. I have a proposition for you."

"I'm on vacation. I'm not taking any new jobs right now."

"Come on. It's a good one. You're going to like it."

"Nope. Listen Clive, I appreciate you thinking about me and all, but I actually want a break. A long break. Probably forever kind of break."

"Lin, you know as well as I do that you can't stay away for long. You enjoy the hunt too much."

"I think I might have gotten sick of it. I have to go. Find someone else, Clive, I'm not coming back too soon."

Catalina hung up and sighed, why didn't they understand that she needed a break, that she just wanted to be left alone. She turned on her heels and went to check on the stranger.

"Who was that? Your pimp?" Sands asked her when she entered the room.

Catalina laughed. "No. I'm freelance. I've got no pimp. How are you feeling?"

Sands was a little confused by her response, he was expecting her to feel hurt or to get angry, not to make her laugh and joke back, if she was joking. Maybe she wasn't, maybe she was in fact an escort.

"I'm pretty good. Whatever you're giving me does the trick. How long was I out?"

"Fourteen hours. Are you hungry?"

"Yes, but first I need to see a man about a horse."

Catalina let another small laugh out and then she got next to the bed. "Well then let's not be late." She helped him up and to the bathroom. "Can you manage?" She asked on the way.

"What? Worried I'll miss?"

"No, more like worried that you'll fall, crack your skull open and rip out your stiches."

"I knew you liked me. Don't worry, I'm a big boy." Sands said and smiled to his own innuendo, he's smile lost some of it's sparkle though when he heard her snort. "What, you don't believe me?"

"I don't need you to prove it, so don't start waving it in my face. I'm going to get you something to eat, please try not to break anything, my furniture or your bones." Catalina answered while getting the sit up on the toilet and then left Sands standing in front of it.

He thanked her in his mind for lifting the sit, because that meant he didn't have to feel around the toilet. He finished his business and felt around in the air for the sink, which he found pretty quick since it was right next to the toilet. He washed his hands and got out of the bathroom, retracing the steps he did before so he wouldn't bang into anything; the problem was that, now, Lina wasn't here for him to lean on and he realized that his legs weren't ready to hold his weight. He almost tumbled but he managed to get a hold of what seemed to be a dresser.

He heard her steps getting closer so he just waited. She didn't make any remark. She left the plate with food on the chair and she went to him helping him back in bed. Sands remarked how wired she seemed to be to him, or maybe not to him but to her surroundings. She was very aware, very sensitive to what was going on around her. When he was back in a comfortable position she placed a tray with legs over him.

"Dig in." she said while sitting back on the chair.

He felt around for the utensils, finding a fork and after figuring where the plate was he started eating, it was very good, eggs, and bacon, cheese, he found a tomato slice. He was enjoying it.

"So who are you Lina?" he asked while still eating.

"Actually, it's Catalina, the boy's the only one who calls me Lina."

"Catalina, Spanish name, yet English accent."

"Spanish and English parents. English schools."

"And what is that you do, Catalina?"

"Nothing. I'm on vacation, which means no talking, nor thinking about work."

"Al right, but when you're not on vacation, you do what?" Sands pressed on, he knew by now that she wasn't stupid, she understood from the beginning what he was asking, which only meant she avoided answering.

"I would rather not disclose my profession."

"Are you an agent?"

"No."

"Are you sure, sugar? You do have some skills that could be picked up on that area of expertise."

"Are you an agent?"

Sands smiled, maybe she wasn't an agent, but she had some connection with that world.

"Yes. I'm CIA."

"That explains a lot."

"What do you mean?"

"It explains why an American, that's not a tourist, ended up on this hell hole with gunshot wounds and with his eyes not where they should have been. I'm not wrong to assume that you had something to do with the blood bath from yesterday, am I?"

"How much do you know about what happened yesterday?"

"Not much considering I was out from this world for the most part, but according to Manuel, that's the kid, in case you didn't know his name, there was a revolution, people fighting against the military and the cartel is dead. Which I assume means the head of the cartel is dead."

"And now? What's going out there now?"

"I haven't been out, I assume people are getting back to their lives. Listen, if you're done eating I'll clean up here and go to take a nap."

"Why are you running away? What do you have to hide?"

"I'm not running, I haven't slept in the last 17 hours. I'm tired and getting cranky."

"What have you done while I was out, then?"

"I made sure you didn't die." Catalina said while getting up and getting the tray, she headed for the door, but she stopped and turned around. "What should I call you?"

"You want to know my name?"

"No, just how would you prefer being called."

"Sands. Call me Sands."

"Ok. If you need anything just call, I'll be in the living room, that's down the hall to the right, around four steps."


	3. A new day, little news

Catalina left the room, leaving the door open so she could hear if Sands would call for her. She went down the hall and directly in the living room jumping on the couch.

Sands could hear her steps, counting them. Ten steps and then a thud, she threw herself on the couch. He was wondering if she did it on purpose so he could hear her or she just felt like it.

 _'Right, now I have time to think. What do I know about her?_

 _Name: Catalina, she didn't give her last name. Why? After all there must be a lot of Catalinas in the world._

 _Looks: That's funny. I have no idea how she looks like. Shorter than me, around 5'5, she didn't seem fat, not even chubby, but not a stick either, I'm not sure about that._

 _Face features unknown._

 _Age: Not able to determine that one either._

 _Profession: Unknown again. Experience with gunshot wounds, but she's not a nurse. If she would be a nurse, she wouldn't have refused to talk about her profession, she wouldn't have had a reason too. She's not a doctor either. The same reasoning._

 _Let's focus on what I do know. Comes here once a year, for a month. Why? Not clear. English and Spanish descent, but English schools, probably grew up in UK._

 _Let's move on, what is what she said until now? Nothing, nothing of importance, she's a perfectionist, not easily intimidated._

 _Back at her first reaction. Sarcastic comment about the situation. Jumping straight to the situation at hand. She didn't react like you would expect. No questions about how I got there, why, or anything about my state._

 _No emotion shown in her voice. Cold and calculated._ _Stole a car and medical supplies, yet no one came here banging at the door about those which could mean two things, she's either good at this or she got lucky in the madness of the town yesterday._ _Also, she said that she'd seen a lot of fucked up shit in her life and she didn't seem to be freaked out about my missing eyes. Is she military? Crime investigator? Mortician? A killer?'_

Sands stopped he's thinking, he started to get a headache. He would have to think of another interrogation technique, straight to the point seemed to work best, but she was able to avoid giving the important stuff away, beating around the bush just made it even easier for her to be vague. He had to make her involved. To get a connection to her. Maybe she would respond better in a – I show you mine if you show me yours – kind of situation. He'll have to give her the impression that he's confessing. It was a long shot, though, she didn't seem to feel any compassion. Sure she worked with care, tried her best not to cause more pain, but she was also quick to send him away when he wouldn't cooperate.

She seemed to care about the kid, yet when he brought up her promise to him, she shrugged it off, even though earlier she told the boy that she never brakes her promises. Of course it all could have been an act. She got him where she wanted. She wanted to clean his eye sockets, he didn't, yet she managed to convince him.

 _'Damn it, she fucking played me. She manipulated me. That's not right, I'm the one who manipulates people in doing what I want, not the other way around. I'm going to ask her about this.'_

Next few hours Sands just listened to his surroundings falling asleep for a few minutes and waking up a few times. He was falling asleep again when a thud made him jump up. The thud was followed by Lina's muttering. "For fuck sake! Even gravity has it in for me these days!"

Sands chuckled, he realized she must have fallen from the couch and that just made him feel a little better and a little vindicated for the fact that she seemed to have manipulated him.

Catalina got up and looked at her clock. It was 1 pm, she stretched a little and then she went to check on her guest.

"You were never going to break your promise to the kid, were you? Telling me to leave was just a bluff." Sands said to her the moment she got in the room.

"Good morning to you too. It wasn't a bluff. I have no real reason to put up with you if you're becoming a pain in the ass. Yes I will do my best to keep my promise, but if you act up too much you're getting the boot."

"I think you're lying, sugarbutt. You care about the kid, you wouldn't hurt him."

"You're only half right in your statement I wouldn't hurt him, but as I said before, sometimes people disappoint. A lot of times actually. And I care about me more than I care for the kid. My wellbeing is more important."

"That's very selfish."

"It's natural. Plus, he's not my kid, there are no maternal instincts risen in me. I'm going out, I have to buy some food. Do you need anything?"

"Cigarettes, a prepaid phone, clothes and tequila."

"No alcohol until your wounds heal a little better and also you're on antibiotics. I'll be back in an hour. I live alone here, no one should come to visit so in case you hear anyone that you don't recognize, shoot." Sands corked and eyebrow to her, he really had to find out what she was, telling him to shoot anyone who would come there was strange.

"What if I don't recognize your voice and I shoot you?"

"Then you better listen intently. I'm off."

Catalina left, Sands could hear her starting the car and sighed _'Idiot, she's gonna get caught in a stolen car.'_ After an hour Sands woke up from another nap, he could hear a car, sounded differently than the one Catalina drove away in. He got up in a sitting position and took his gun in his hand. He heard the front door open and close, he was getting ready to fire, but he relaxed when he heard her "I'm back. And I come bearing news so better not shoot just yet."

She went to the kitchen and left the groceries on the table, then she headed for the bedroom, throwing her shoes from her feet while she walked. "I got you clothes, I hope they'll fit. Here's your cigarettes and your phone." She told him, handing him everything.

She dragged the chair right in front of him and she sat down. Sands was sitting on the edge of the bed, he took the things and put them next to him, keeping the gun in his hand. He sensed her moving towards him and for a second he wondered if she's going to caress his face, because he realized that her hand was getting near his head, he was getting ready to say something when he felt something cold and slim being shoved in his mouth. "I have to check your temperature." Catalina said the moment she thrust the thermometer in his mouth.

Sands pulled it out and growled "Do that again, doll, and I'm going to brake every bone in your body."

"Fine, just put it back in." Catalina huffed, she was starting to regret her decisions, feeling that she couldn't do this. She always came here to visit her friend's grave and to get away from people. All of them. She needed a break from socializing and yet now she was stuck with a man in her house. A man that even though she was finding extremely attractive, was also very dangerous. _'Yes, that's one of the reasons you find him attractive. Shut up Lin. Shut up and stop staring at those yummy lips.'_

"I don't think so." Sands said getting Catalina out of her reverie.

"Fine then I'll shove it up your ass." She answered and took the thermometer from his hand getting up from the chair.

"Are you crazy?" Sands asked, he was starting to freak out. Who the fuck was she? She didn't back down, not even for a second after hearing his threat and she was actually getting ready to shove a thermometer up his ass.

"You act like a kid, I'm going to treat you like one. So which end do you want this?" She asked waving the thermometer in the air. Sands caught her hand and took the thermometer out of it, putting it in his mouth.

"Good boy, you'll get a cookie afterwards. Now while you just sit there with your mouth occupied I can tell you the news I got." Catalina sat back down and took a cigarette from her own pack lightening it, Sands heard her inhale the smoke and then exhaling "There is talk about you. They call you the blind gunman. No one knows for sure who you are, though, or where you've come from. Stories are being fabricated. Some say you were caught in a love triangle and you took your own eyes out. Others are a little more realistic and think you had a personal vendetta against the cartel. No one knows where you are. Some say you died somewhere outside town, others think you might be hiding, and the cashier at the store was certain that you left town. She said she saw you leaving. The newest rumor is that you never existed."

Sands took the thermometer out and handed it to Catalina, who took it and looked at it. "You're temperature is a little high. I'll have to take it again in a few hours, if it doesn't go down you'll have to take a stronger antibiotic."

"Where did the last rumor come from?"

"From me. I like my privacy, I would prefer that people won't try to butt in my life. No one talked about seeing a woman helping you out, but I would like to make sure they never will."

"You got a different car." Sands said remembering the sound from earlier.

"I got my own car back. I got rid of the stolen one. It wouldn't have been very smart to hold on to it for too long. I'm going to cook something. You should really take a shower."

"Considering my injuries I think it would be better if you would give me a sponge bath. After all you don't want me to get an infection."

"No of course not. That's why I brought waterproof bandages. I'm going to change the ones you've got with this, it's time for a change any way, then you can go and get washed, yourself. You were the one who said that you're a big boy. You won't need my help."

Sands smirk dropped, why wasn't he able to shake her, he would threaten her and she wouldn't flinch, he would make lewd remarks or imply them she didn't seem affected, sometimes she would answer with the same amount of innuendo others she would just simply shrug it off with reason. She seemed to have a sarcastic sense of humour but it only appeared when she was alone or when she talked to herself.

"Can you get up please?" Catalina said loudly.

"No need to scream, sugar, I'm blind not deaf."

"Well I asked you to get up two times and you didn't react." Sands got up and smiled when she felt her get down in front of him.

"Finally, some good service." Catalina, ignored him, she cut the old bandages and cleaned the sutured wounds, then she got the waterproof bandages and started wrapping them around his thighs. She got up and did the same with his arm.

"That's it? You're a tease."

"Not at all. I doubt that you really thought that I'm going to blow you. Go and shower, there are towels in the cabinet on the left, behind the door. I'll leave your clothes on the bed. If you feel able to, you can come in the kitchen when you're done."

"Where's the kitchen?"

"Use your nose." Catalina left the room and headed for the kitchen. She put the groceries in the cupboards leaving out only what she would cook. She could hear the water running in the shower and she smiled. Even though she had moments when she just wished that Sands would go away she also liked interacting with him, and looking at him wasn't that bad either.

She washed her hands and she started cooking. She should try and find out a little more about this man, she needed to know if there were going to be people who wanted him dead and that would put her in danger.


	4. There is no trust

Sands finished his shower and got dressed with the clothes he found laid on the bed for him. He smiled when he realized that Catalina not only thought about buying underware, but she also arranged the clothes on the bed in the order he would normally get dressed, he's smile grew wider when he was fully clothed and he realized that she managed to figure he's size to a T.

He took his cigarettes and a gun with him and he slowly found his way out of the room. He stopped on the hallway and listened. He could hear music, simmering and he could smell meat being cooked. He followed the sounds and the enticing smells heading left on the hallway, keeping a hand on the wall and he stopped when he felt the wall finishing.

"This is the kitchen. Continue five steps in a straight line and you'll find a chair." Catalina said to him when she saw that he stopped at the entrance.

Sands followed her instructions and he found the chair, pulling it away from the table and sitting down.

"What are you making?" he asked her sniffing the air.

"Picadillo and rice. Coffee?"

"Sure." Catalina purred him the coffee and set it on the table in front of him. "Sugar?"

"No."

"Milk?"

"Yes."

She took the small milk carafe and set it on the table and then she turned back to the stove adding lime juice to the meat she was cooking. Sands felt around for his cup and the carafe, he managed to find the cup, but he knocked over the carafe spilling the milk all over the table. "Fuck!"

Catalina turned around and cleaned the table with paper towels, she took the carafe, added more milk on it and she handed it to Sands watching him take it and trying to pour some milk in his coffee.

"I wouldn't do that." She said.

He stopped mid movement "Why?"

"Because you'll going to pour it on your crotch and I'm not going to clean it."

Sands smiled "Why did you feel adding that last bit was important?"

"Because you seem to put a lot of effort in getting me close to your penis and I think that if I wouldn't have mentioned that I'm not going to clean it, the way I cleaned the table, you might have poured it on you intentionally. So if you still want to add milk to your coffee move your right hand around ten centimeters in front of you."

He managed to add the milk to his coffee, setting the carafe back on the table. He took a sip of coffee and he got a cigarette out lighting it. Catalina took an ashtray placing it on the table.

"The food is going to be done in half an hour." She said to him sitting down on a chair and lighting a cigarette herself.

"So, where did you learn how to treat gunshot wounds? I doubt you're a doctor or a nurse." Sands said, he was determined to find out more about this woman.

"Actually, I did some nursing classes a few years back."

"So you are a nurse."

"No. I just have nursing experience. I don't work as a nurse, I never did and I never will."

"Why would you do the course if you weren't planning to be a nurse?"

"Boredom. It's also a useful experience. You never know when you might need it."

"Boredom? Normally people go to the movies or read or socialize when they bored. They don't follow nursing courses."

"Or they learn something new to keep their minds occupied. That's exactly what I did. I learned something new."

Catalina got up to stir the meat and to get the rice ready. Sands listened to her movements and set in silence thinking about what he could draw from their conversation. _'This is not telling me much. She apparently gets bored easily and she enjoys novelty. I wonder if this could be the reason she accepted helping me out? She might have an ulterior motive. But what? She doesn't seem to know me and her voice doesn't sound familiar.'_

"Why did you take me in?" Sands asked trying the direct approach.

"Because Manuel asked me too, because he was crying and I was having a hangover and I just wanted him to shut up and because I'm a good person."

"And stupid."

"That too."

"So you agree that taking me in was stupid?"

"Of course I agree, because it was. I don't know you and you might be dangerous, you could be a serial killer. Also there might be people out there that would want you dead and that might think that I'm standing in their way and that I have to be removed. Taking you in might prove to be the worst decision of my life."

"And yet I'm still here. Why?"

"Adrenaline."

"Excuse me?"

"I like the risk of it. Adrenaline is like a drug, it gets me high. Also I did make a promise."

"Haven't you said that you will break that promise if I'm becoming a pain in the ass?"

"Exactly, if you're becoming a pain in the ass. I was referring to your attitude, not at the fact that I might end up in dangerous situations."

"I really need to know what is that you do, because right now I'm leaning more and more towards the possibility that you are in fact a hitman-woman. And if that's the case I might need to get rid of you."

Catalina laughed, she set the table turned off the stove and got food on the plates. Then she set back on her chair. "You think I was hired to kill you?"

"It's a possibility."

"Then why are you still alive? Why would I go through all the trouble mending your wounds? Your reasoning has a lot of holes in it."

"Maybe you're paid for getting me alive."

"Then I wouldn't be a hitman."

"You might be a spy."

"And what would I be spying? As I mentioned before I don't know you. You said you're a CIA agent, I got no proof. How do I know you're not actually here to take me down?"

"You think I got my own eyes out so I could get here and kill you? That's just stupid."

"No, not stupid, the eyes part might not have been part of your plan."

"And why would I want you dead?"

"How should I know? You threatened me a lot in the last 24 hours."

"If I would have wanted you dead, you would have been cold by now, sugar. So let's get back to your profession."

"As I said before I don't want to talk about it. It's not important any way. You can eat now, the food is cold enough."

Catalina started eating, she was wondering how would be the best way to handle the situation. She needed to know what to expect from having this man in her house. Even though she enjoyed risky situations she still needed to have a certain control on them and right now she didn't have much. This man was definitely a dangerous man, he was that type of man that would use a soft voice even when angry, that kind of man that could shoot you without you even expecting it. He wasn't very easy to read and the fact that he didn't have any eyes made it even more difficult. Now more than ever Lin realized the truth behind that saying 'Eyes are the windows to the soul'.

Sands started eating too, he was having similar thoughts as Catalina. He didn't have control over the situation or over her. He hated the fact that she didn't seem to have a soft spot. He had nothing to bribe her with and nothing to threaten her with and he didn't like his position, not one bit.

"You've never told me your last name." he said while eating, at least the food was good.

"I know I didn't. I don't intend to."

"Why not?"

"I don't trust you."

"What could I do with that little information?"

"A lot of things. You could call your agency and have me checked up. And from there the possibilities are endless."

"Why would I do that? Are you such an important person?"

"You would do that because you don't trust me. And no, I'm not an important person."

"Trust is a hard thing to come by."

"Yes it is. Trust needs to be earned and can be lost in a second. What is that you want Sands?"

"I want to know who I'm dealing with."

"With me. I'm not a threat to you, I have nothing against you, I want nothing from you. I'm not hired to kill or hurt you, neither to spy on you. I'm just offering you a place to recover. If you don't want to be here or if you think that I might be out to get you, you can leave. You're not a hostage."

"You might not be interested in killing or hurting me now, but what about if some people will show up and put a gun to your head? What about that?"

"I'll deal with that when time comes. You're asking me for loyalty, I think it's a little bit early to talk about that. On the other hand, when I took you in I made a choice and took on a responsibility. I said I'll help you out, so I will. That being said, what can I help you out with?"

"Are you flirting with me?" he couldn't know if she was in fact flirting or she was serious. Being blind was proving to be worse by the moment. When he had a small victory in getting something done with no problem, like finding the fork and the plate with food without knocking anything, then something else proved to be impossible or extremely hard.

"No. I am serious. Are you going back to the States? Do you need help with that? Is the Agency going to send someone for you?"

"I don't know that yet. I'll keep you posted." He answered getting up from the table and heading back for the bedroom. He managed to find his way quite easily and felt a small satisfaction when he realized that he didn't need Catalina's instructions, which she didn't bother to give. _'Why didn't she bother to give me instructions in getting back? Indifference or certitude that I could manage?'_

He reached the bed and sat down, laying on his back. He took another cigarette out and lit it up, then he took the cellphone and dialed a number, number that he knew by heart. He talked on the phone for an hour, the agency wasn't going to pick him up from Mexico, they had some stupid excuses, but he knew that they just didn't want to bother with the possibility of losing another agent there. The fact that he wasn't the most loved person in the agency didn't help either, but he did manage to convince them to come for him at the border. He also made another phone call to an old friend, he asked him to look up at all the tourist that got there at the end of October and to look for anyone with the name of Catalina. Yes it was a tedious task, but he wasn't going to let a complete stranger help him out.

After he finished his phone conversations he took his pills, that Catalina had arranged in a specific order on the nightstand, order that he was informed of so he could take his pills without needing her around. He appreciated her effort to not make him feel useless, but in the same time it annoyed him, she was trying to make him feel capable of handling himself and in a way that made him feel the opposite. If she would have done it because she just couldn't be bothered he would have accepted it better than her doing it to be nice to him. He was getting angry with her by thinking about her attitude, her seemingly indifferent attitude, the way she didn't say anything when observing his weaknesses. It made him angry because he was sure that she was controlling herself not to say anything, he was sure that she would normally tease him for spilling the milk, for example. She would have made a sarcastic comment, but she controlled herself because she was sorry for him.

He's train of thoughts was interrupted when he heard footsteps on the hallway coming towards the bedroom. She stopped in the doorway, leaning on the doorframe. "So? Are they coming to get you?"

"No. They'll pick me up at the border."

"Why not taking a plane directly?"

"Too many security checks. I want you to drive me to the border."

"All right." Catalina answered and left the room, heading for the couch in the living room and leaving Sands a little confused.

He got up and followed her, reaching the couch and taking a sit next to her.

"What is it?" she asked seeing him sit down.

"You agree to this, just like that?"

"I don't see what's your problem. You said you want me to drive you to the border, I say yes and now you try to find something to pick on. I've already told you I'll help you out."

"What are you getting out from this?"

"Nothing. I'm just a good person. I've told you already. Not everybody is mean or interested in getting a personal gain. Some people, like me, enjoy helping others."

"That's bullshit. Earlier you admitted that you're selfish and now you say you're going to make an altruistic act?"

"No, no. I'm still selfish. I gain good vibes. Helping others makes me feel good. It's still selfish. There is no such thing as altruistic. At least not 100 % altruistic. Can you leave now, I want to take a nap."

"I'm not stopping you."

"Well, considering that you're taking up space on the couch, you kind of do. You should go and take a nap too. You need rest if you want a speedy recovery."

Sands got up and left leaving Catalina alone to her nap. He wouldn't be able to sleep though, he was restless in finding out the information he wanted on her.


	5. Getting information and a bullet

Catalina was still asleep when Sands got a phone call. It was his friend, he managed to get the information that Sands asked for. He listened to what this man managed to find out and he's smile grew wider and wider.

"So, the only Catalina that entered the country at the end of October is Catalina Perkins. She's a criminal psychologist that works freelance. She works mostly with the FBI to the most difficult cases, usually serial killers. She has double citizenship, American and British. Her mother and her sister live in New York. Her mother is a house-wife, her sister is an interior-designer. Her father is dead and I couldn't find out what exactly was his profession, but if I would have to guess I would guess that he was an agent, probably MI5 or MI6. Catalina's past is quite a ride. She was a drug addict in her teenage years, she overdosed at sixteen and was in a coma for three months. She's been clean since then. I think that her drug problem started when her father died, when she was fourteen, she also suffered from depression, changed a few therapist during the time. Her family and her included are filthy rich, mostly inheritances. Anything else that I forgot?" the informant asked.

"Age, appearance and what kind of training she has." Sands said.

"Oh right, 28, 5'5', blonde hair, hazel eyes, toned physic. As training goes I don't know. She has done different kind of courses during her life, nursing, creative writing, painting (which she abandoned after a week), piano lessons, taekwondo classes, aikido classes and considering how often she visits a shooting range I'd say she knows how to fire a gun."

"Schooling?" Sands continued his interrogation.

"Let's see. The majority of it took place in London, but she finished at Yale School of Medicine, the Psychiatry department. Also she finished earlier, I think that she might be a genius. Let me look over this." There was a silence and the sound of papers being shifted. "Yeah, I was right, she has an IQ of 147."

"All right. I want you to keep digging and if you find anything that might be important call me on this number."

"You do know that information like this doesn't come cheap."

"Yes, and you will be paid. Fifty thousand as usual."

"Good, even though considering how she looks I'd rather have her as payment." The informant started laughing.

"I don't do that kind of trades. Call me if you find anything else." Sands answered dryly and then he ended the conversation.

He heard steps coming on the hallway towards the bedroom, but they didn't stop, Lina passed the bedroom door and continued to the kitchen and then to another room that he didn't know about.

Sands got up and followed her; the way to the kitchen was easy, he knew it already, but crossing the kitchen and finding the door that Lina passed through wasn't. He hit himself on the fridge and he managed to knock down the trash can. He finally found a door and he tried to open it but it was locked.

"You better pick up the mess you made in my kitchen." Lina said from behind the door.

He heard a toilet being flushed and then the sound of water falling in a sink. He realized that it was a second bathroom, so he turned around and felt around for the chairs. When Lina got out he was sitting at the table smoking and smiling.

"You're like a raccoon." She said bending down and picking up the trash that was on the floor. "I asked you to pick this up."

"I'm blind."

"Yes, but you still got hands. Why are you smiling at me like the Cheshire cat?"

"Why do you think? What does your intuition tell you?"

Catalina didn't answer right away. She finished cleaning up, she opened the fridge and got herself some orange juice, then she took a sit at the table and she lit up a cigarette.

"I think you had someone to check me out and you managed to get some information about me. And it's because you have exactly the same face my mother has when she finds out about something that I didn't want her to know about me. I do have a question. How much did you or will you pay this person for the information that you got?"

"Why? Are you going to pay the bill?"

"Oh, no. I'm just curious how much my personal life's worth."

"Fifty thousand."

"That's cheap. Quite disappointing."

"Why didn't you tell me that you work as a criminal psychologist. Why is that something to hide?"

"It isn't, I just don't want to talk about it. I already told you, I'm on vacation, I take vacation very seriously."

"Shouldn't vacation be fun? Who takes vacation seriously?"

"I do and you know what I'm talking about. Don't act dumb, is very unappealing."

Sands smiled again "So you find me appealing. I knew it."

"When do you have to be at the border? And where exactly do you have to be?"

"Not going to ask what I managed to find out about you?"

"What's the point? Plus I know what kind of information you can get in such a short time. Family members, academics. So when do we have to leave for the border?"

"I'll contact them when I'm close. We're going to go to El Paso. That's approximately sixteen hours of driving or more with traffic. We're not leaving yet. I need to be in a better state then I am now. It might get dangerous on the way there, so do you think you're up to it?"

"I'll manage."

The next two weeks their life entered in some kind of a routine. Sands was exercising his other senses, while Lina was cooking, cleaning and reading. Lina continued to take care of his wounds and she was happy to see the progress he was making in his healing. Their conversations were light, flirty and without any kind of depth. Lina never asked him anything about his life or about the reason he was in Mexico and Sands didn't ask for more details about her life.

Both of them had their reason for this. Sands wanted to make her feel safe and let her guard down, while Lina wanted to not get emotionally involved and she knew that if she started knowing more about him she will get attached. That was one of her biggest faults she would always get attached to the underdog, to those who were weird, to those who didn't have friends, to those who wouldn't fit in and Sands was that kind of a person. And if the person in question was also surrounded by a bit of danger and as attractive as Sands, the chances were she would also fall in love and she couldn't risk it.

* * *

"We'll leave tomorrow. I need my suitcase." Sands said coming in the living room and sitting on the couch were Lina was reading a book. She got her book mark and placed it firmly between the pages before closing the book.

"Where is your suitcase?"

"I'll give you the address. You better take a gun with you."

"Oh, aren't you sweet. Worried I'll die?"

"You better not to. I need you to get me to El Paso. Now move your sweet butt to this place and get me my suitcase." Sands said handing her a piece of paper with an address on it and some keys. Lina took the paper, read it and gave it back. "All righty then!"

"Was that an Ace Ventura impersonation?"

"Yes. I'm off. I'll be back in about two hours. Don't wreck my house."

"Ace Ventura? Really? Do you find that guy funny?"

"The actor or the character?"

"The character."

"Yes. The actor too. See you later alligator."

Lina left leaving Sands on the couch with his own thoughts. She got in the car and headed for Sands apartment. When she arrived there she first looked around. There was nothing out of place, no men that seemed to be watching the building. She got out of the car and she got inside the building, she arrived at the door. She first listened, when she didn't hear anything she opened the door and got in. She looked around for the suitcase, but she couldn't find it. She forgot to ask Sands where it was and she realized that she didn't have her phone with her. She swore under her breath and she started looking in places that weren't that obvious. Finally Lin, found the suitcase hidden inside the floor, under a loose board.

When she got out of the apartment two men were waiting. She managed to run back inside before they raised their guns. She propped a chair on the door and she looked around her. She was at the third floor so jumping out the window wasn't an option and she also didn't want them to follow her. So she crawled under the bed got her gun ready and she waited for them to get in.

They managed to brake the door down and entered the apartment, she could see their feet getting closer to the bed. She shot one of them in the leg, making him fall on the floor then she shot him again in his head. The other one started shooting at the bed, bullets penetrating the bed and hitting the floor next to her. One of the bullets managed to find her shoulder.

Lin turned on her back and slid from under the bed shooting the other guy dead. She got out, took the suitcase and went back on the hallway. She took a quick glance to see if there were others, but there weren't. She got to her car and drove off. She kept checking for any followers but there were none. That could only mean a few things, either the cartel wasn't fully regrouped or the new cartel leader didn't consider Sands very dangerous. She was sure that the two goons that attacked her were there just for surveillance. They probably got an apartment next to the one of Sands and they only got out because they heard the noise she made when she took the floor board off.

Her shoulder was starting to feel like it was on fire. Lin bit her lip and she continued on her way. She hoped that she would be able to get the bullet out by herself. It was clearly stuck in her shoulder blade.

When she got home she sighed and got inside.

"You chose a pretty fucked up place to hide this. It didn't occur to you to let me know?" she asked Sands who was lounging on the couch.

"I knew you will manage to find it. Are you hurt?"

"Why do you ask? Were you expecting for me to get hurt?"

"I smell blood."

"Well, Count Dracula, that's because I'm bleeding."

"That time of the month, eh?"

"Yes, the time of the month when I get a bullet in my shoulder."

"You got shot? Didn't I told you not to?"

"You said not to die. I'm not dead. There were two guys waiting for you."

"Are you blind also?"

"No, they were in one of the apartments next to yours. They probably heard me when I got the floor board off. They were only those two. No one followed me."

"And those two, where are they now?"

"Dead, in your apartment's bedroom. I'm going to get this bullet out."


	6. Help is needed

Lina was in her bathroom, trying for the last fifteen minutes to get the bullet from her shoulder, but the position wasn't one that she could actually reach. After struggling and causing herself more pain than needed and causing the wound to lose a lot of blood she made one more try, that ended with her losing her balance and falling on the bathroom floor, because of the straining and the dizziness caused by the blood loss.

Sands, who was in the kitchen drinking his coffee and making plans about the voyage they were going to embark, heard a loud crash coming from the bathroom. He was expecting to hear Lina's swearing, but none came. After a few more seconds went by he realized that there was no noise coming from the bathroom and he knew that Lina was out of her senses.

He got up and in a few big steps he was to the bathroom door. "Lina? Hey Lin! Damn it!" He tried the door, but it was locked. "Why on earth did you lock the fucking door?"

Sands stopped pushing the door, he got his gun out from his holster, touched the lock on the door one more time to make sure he'll shoot on the right direction and then he pulled the trigger, shooting the lock. He re-holstered his gun and then he opened the door slowly entering the bathroom.

He stopped at the entrance and listened for Lin's breath. When he managed to pin point her position he headed her way crouching down. He reached for her and felt her shoulder, he kept moving his hand slowly, feeling the warm blood, realizing she was on her side, he slowly turned her on her back and found her neck, taking her pulse.

Sands moved his hand up her neck to her face slapping her gently. Lin opened her eyes, coming back to her senses. At first the images were blurry, but they slowly started to get clearer and clearer until she managed to see Sands crouched over her, his sunglasses on his nose and his hair coming down, framing his face, that was stuck in a concerned frown.

"I'm up, you can stop touching me!" she whispered.

Sands removed his hand from her face and smiled "Why did you lock the door? I had to shoot at it."

"Habit. I'm not able to tend to my own wound and going to a hospital is not an option. I'll have to call a friend."

"I can help, I've treated gun wounds before." Sands replied quickly, not wanting a stranger to make his appearance here.

"Thank you, but unfortunately in this kind of situation you can't rely just on the senses that you've got left, no matter how good you've become in mastering them."

"Thank you for being sensitive to my situation." He answered sarcastically.

"Oh please. You would kill me if I would start coddling you. I lost too much blood, I can't take a chance right know. I need to know for sure that the wound is well taken care for. And I know what you're thinking, but you don't need to worry, this friend is not going to ask any questions nor is he going to cause you any problems. Help me get up."

Sands sighed and then he grabbed Lin's arm, which she stretched towards him; she slowly got in a sitting position, then he moved one arm around her waist while she took hold of the other with both of her hands getting up from the floor. Sands felt her swaying slowly so he tightened his hold on her waist and helped her out from the bathroom, guiding her to the bedroom. After she sat on the edge of the bed, Lin realized that she still didn't have her phone, she sighed and looked up at Sands who was heading towards her with a towel from his bathroom.

"I need my phone, can you get it for me please."

"Right after we stop this bleeding of yours." He answered her while taking a sit next to her right side and pressing the towel on her shoulder.

"A little higher and a little towards my left. You know what, get the towel secured with my bra strap and go get me the cellphone."

"The strap won't put enough pressure."

"I know, but it'll be enough for a few seconds."

He kept the towel on her wound with his left hand while he started feeling around for the bra strap with his right, he slowly moved his hand from her shoulder down her arm, in a movement that seemed more like a caress. "Are you enjoying yourself?" Lin asked when he finally found the strap and pulled it over the shoulder securing the towel to her shoulder blade.

"Well, I have to do with what I get." He said while getting up. "Where's your phone?"

"In my purse, that's on the living room on the couch." He left for the living room, his steps were confident now, he knew the place by heart, he found the purse and shoved his hand inside, rummaging for the phone. The first thing that he thought was how much her purse was making a contrast with her house, while in the house everything had its place and was tidy and clutter free, the purse was like a sack filled with a lot of things, he could feel receipts, a wallet, some tampons, some keys, a small folding knife (that made him smile), condoms (the smile changed into a grin) and finally the cellphone. He took the phone back to her the wide grin still on his face.

"What are you grinning about?"

"Nothing in particular, you've got a variety of things in that purse of yours."

"I know exactly what I've got there, I still don't think that any of those things knows any good jokes." Catalina took her phone and dialed the number, a male voice answered ~What?~

~I need your help.~

here was silence for a few seconds and then a sigh.

~Fine. What do you need?~

~I need you to come to my place and get a bullet out of my shoulder. Can you do that? Please!~

~How bad is it?~

~Not very bad, the bullet is quite close to the surface, I just can't reach it.~

~I'll be there in an hour.~ The phone clicked and signaled the end of the conversation. Sands listened to it and he had a feeling that he knew who the person Lin spoke to was.

"Who is this guy?"

"A friend."

"He didn't seem very happy to hear from you."

"Well we kind of drifted apart in the last years. Some shit happened and we haven't talked in a very long time."

"Which makes me wonder why would he still help you out."

"Because I helped him out in the past and because even though things have changed over time I still care for him and he still cares for me, which I think probably hurts him."

"So many words yet, so little information. I can't gather anything from this. What's his name?"

"You don't have to gather anything and his name is going to remain unknown. He's going to come here, patch me up and then leave. Simple. I'm hungry. What's the chance you're able to cook?"

Sands didn't like the lack of information he was getting from Catalina about this guy, but he did appreciate that she was direct in telling him that she wasn't going to disclose anything, at least she didn't try to fool him.

"I can't cook, but I'm very good at ordering food."

"Great." Catalina looked in her phone and found her favorite restaurant that also delivered, she pushed the call button and then threw the phone to Sands, who caught it. "Order something good."

In half an hour food arrived, filling the house with beautiful smells. Sands brought the food in the bedroom setting it on the bed between him and Lin.

"Puerco pibil?" Lin asked while opening the packaging.

"It's my favorite."

They mostly ate in silence, enjoying the food. Sands tried a few times to bring up the subject of this friend who was supposed to show up any minute, but Catalina refused to talk.

Right when they finished eating, the sound of the back door opening was heard. Lin got up from the bed and headed towards the back while telling Sands to wait there. She didn't say anything to this friend of hers about her guest and she wanted to inform him about the situation before the situation would become visible and easily interpreted in a wrong way.

Sands was sitting on the bed listening intently to the conversation that was taking place in the kitchen. By now he knew who the friend was and he was keeping a hand on his gun, because from the conversation that he was hearing he could deduce that his presence here wasn't appreciated.

~Can you stop this? I called you here because I need your help. You're here, so, help me! What's he got to do with any of this?~ Lin whispered, fighting to keep her voice down, hoping that Sands couldn't hear her, but knowing that he in fact he heard her very well.

~He almost got me killed and you want me to be polite to him? Really?~ Sands heard the male voice respond in a whispered menace.

~Did he put a gun to your head? Or did you accept the job that he offered and that job was the one that almost got you killed?~ Lin threw at him.

~That's not the point.~

~I don't see the point then.~

~Why the hell are you helping him?~ The man asked infuriated.

~Because I made a promise.~ she answered as that was the most normal, logical thing.

~You and your charity ….~

~My charity is why your alive right now.~ she spat, regretting the moment the words came out of her mouth.

~Yes, even though the last time I begged you not to. I told you to focus on someone else.~ his voice grew louder and angrier.

~They were already dead. You were still alive.~ Lin answered, her fist balled up.

~You should have let me die in piece.~

~I couldn't have done that. I just couldn't.~ she replied; Sands could hear the way she was fighting the tears forming in her throat.

~Will you help me or not?~ she asked after a period of silence, period in which Sands assumed she wiped her tears away.

~He's a very dangerous man.~ her friend answered.

~I know, but that's not what I asked you.~

~I'll help you, but as long as he's around, I'm afraid that you'll end up in this kind of a situation again. I think you should get away from him.~

Lin shook her head and her friend didn't say anything, anymore. They both headed for the bedroom, where all the medical supplies were, where Sands was waiting, ready to shoot in case he was threatened.


	7. Sands is annoyed by his own feelings

The moment they entered the room Sands raised his gun, making El to do the same while Catalina rolled her eyes.

"If you two want a showdown, you can get out of my apartment and only after he finishes stitching me up."

"I thought you died." Sands said his gun still pointing towards Catalina who was in fact standing in front of El.

"I did, a very long time ago." El responded aiming over Catalina's shoulder.

Sands moved his hand aiming a little higher, realizing that El was in fact behind Catalina, but knowing that he was taller than her.

"Would you please stop this, at least for the moment. I have the strangest desire to not die of exsanguination."

Both of the men lowered their guns. "Good. Now let's get to business."

Lin said moving towards the bed. Sands got up and brought the trolley Catalina used when she took care after his wounds. El drew a chair next to the bed where Catalina laid down on her stomach. "Use only a local anaesthetic, and make sure you clear the wound properly." She said her voice slightly muffled by the covers she was resting her head on.

~Yes, yes I know. It's not the first time I'm doing this.~

After cleaning his hands and getting some gloves on, El removed the blood soaked towel and pulled down the bra strap that was now in his way and he started by cleaning the area. When he finally finished cleaning he took the syringe with the anaesthetic and gave her the shot.

He started preparing the tools he was going to use, giving time for the anaesthetic to work. Sands was standing in a corner listening to everything, cussing in his mind the situation, the fact that he couldn't see if she was alright, that she had to call for El because he was not capable to help her and then getting even angrier realizing that if he hadn't lost his eyes he wouldn't even be here and she wouldn't have gone through this. But what annoyed him was the fact that he seemed to care about her, he would have given anything for him to not have lost his eyes, but in the same time he would have stipulated still meeting her if someone offered him the possibility to travel back in time.

Sands was brought back to reality by El "Come here and help me out." He shook lightly his head, as if trying to chase away the thoughts and feelings he was having and he approached the bed.

"Get on the other side and hold her arm and shoulder down, the anaesthetic isn't very strong and I don't want her to flinch." El added.

Sands circled the bed and hopped up feeling around for Lin's arm.

"You'll have to come a little closer." She spoke to give him a chance to figure out her location.

Sands re-adjusted his position, but in doing so he placed his knee on Lin's wrist. "Ouch!" He moved back fast, but the blunder made El raise an eyebrow. "Are you blind?" he asked annoyed.

"No, not at all. I just don't have any eyes you fuck-mook." Sands replied angrily.

"Boys, let's not forget why we're all here, shall we?" Catalina said, her voice low and lacking energy.

They both shut up, Sands managed to find Lin's arm and shoulder, securing his hands on her and El started working. Lin was clenching her teeth, letting air go out at equal intervals, she was covered in cold sweat and her body temperature was going down making her shiver.

"Are you done? She's not going to be able to stand for this much longer." Sands said feeling Lin drifting slowly into unconsciousness.

"Almost, I just have to stitch the wound. Don't worry she's stronger than she seems." El answered still bent down over her shoulder.

When he was done and he finished dressing the now clean and stitched wound, Catalina was in a sedative induced sleep; El risked and gave her a sedative shot even though he knew she'll be very mad when she would get up from her slumber. He wasn't planning to be here when that would happen so he knew that she'll take it out on Sands and that made him smile to himself. They both left her to her sleep and headed for the kitchen.

El was getting ready to leave, but Sands wanted some things cleared out.

"When I made you the offer and told you that you have nothing to live for, why didn't you contradict me, after all she's clearly an important person to you."

"Not as important as you think." El answered while washing his hands in the kitchen sink.

"I think you're lying, but that's not actually important. I was merely curious." Sands lit a cigarette and inhaled the smoke with lust. "You don't have to worry about her wellbeing, I don't intend to hurt her, especially that I need her."

"Right, and after her usefulness has run its course? Will she become another piece of chess that you'll remove from the playing board? Another piece of good pork that needs to be balanced out?"

Sands smiled, he exhaled the smoke through his nostrils, looking like a raging bull from kids cartoons. "So you do care after all?! If she plays the game right she will be in no danger, not from me anyway."

"I don't really trust you with that."

"I know, which makes me wonder why didn't you make a bigger effort to convince her to ditch me, or even tried to kill me. You seem to think that I'll kill her, your friend, and yet you take no measures to see that that won't happen."

"Are you suggesting I should kill you?"

"No, but why didn't you try?"

"Catalina's business is her business. She's smart enough to know what kind of man you are, and if despite knowing she still chose to help you, then so be it. She's a firm believer that each should make their choices in life and face the consequences of those choices. Anyway she is quite capable to survive. Don't be fooled by her small figure and melodic voice, she could knock you out in a minute."

El took his guitar case from the floor and headed to the back door. He stopped on the threshold and turned around towards Sands "Oh, also, don't live with the impression that your special, you're just another mutt from the street that she took pity on, she does this quite a lot, your just another challenge to her, another project. She needs this because she gets bored, but you mean nothing more than a distraction."

"You sound quite bitter about it. That's what you were? Another distraction, another mutt?" Sands asked with a malicious smile playing on his lips.

El didn't answer, he turned his back and left, closing the door. Sands smile faded, there were some things that bugged him. Was Catalina as dangerous as El made her be? Was she really a physical threat? But what disturbed him more was the question 'Did she really see him just like a charity case, a stray dog that needed someone to take him in?' The question annoyed him, it made him angry with himself, because he asked himself this question and because he cared about the answer to this question.

 _Why the fuck should I care? I don't fucking care, I'm using her._ ** _I think you do care, and you know you do, you use her, but you also care about her._** _I don't. She's just a tool. I agree that I feel a certain attraction to her, I would have a tumble in a hay with her, but that's the extent of it._ ** _Is it, really? That's why you were so worried when she passed out in the bathroom or when you held her down for that fucker to get the bullet out?_** _Of course I was worried, need I remind you that I need her to get to El Paso? I can't let her die or get too wounded to be able to drive. I don't have time to find someone else to do the job. I can't afford to pay anyone right now considering that the Agency is not funding me anymore and the money I was planning to run with are gone by now. But she's doing this for free. It does make me wonder a little bit why is she doing this for free._ ** _Because you are a charity case, just like he said, that's why. What? You thought she's fallen in love with you and that's what pushes her to help you? You thought a smart and beautiful woman, at least that's what your informant said, will fall for a blind agent that was planning to go rogue. You think a_ _criminal psychologist_ _would fall for a sociopath? Fucker!_**

He didn't know how much time has passed since El left and he got stuck in his head, but a small, weak call of his name snapped him out of his internal conversation.

"Sands! Sands! Where the fuck are you?" Lin said, slowly getting up, trying to ignore the pain in her shoulder and the dizziness produced by the sedative. "I said no fucking sedatives, but oh no, why would they listen? Men!" She managed to get in a sitting position and she flung her legs over the edge of the bed and forced herself up only to fall on the floor like a puppet that had her string cut in one motion.

"What are you doing, sugar-butt?" Sands asked amused entering the room.

"I'm making out with the floor. Do you mind?" she answered sarcastically while trying get back up. "I could use your help here."

"Now you need my help?! Shouldn't you call for your friend back?"

"What the fuck is your problem? What are you in high school? You know what, I'll manage by myself. I don't have the time nor the patience for jealousy fits."

"I'm not jealous. Don't flatter yourself."

"Right, then you're just a dick. I helped you out, you still need my help, but it's too much for you to help me get up. It's too much of an effort. What? Should I offer you money? What are your prices? How much goes to your pimp? I don't know if I can afford you."

Sands got next to her and he helped her up and back in bed. "I'll make an exception this time. No charge."

"Don't I feel special." Lin said, showing him the finger, knowing that he couldn't see her. But he did sense her and he grabbed her hand, still in the air, with the finger still sticking out.

"You're very rude, sugar." He said while still holding her hand, expecting her to pull away. Lin looked at him, a little surprised and a little impressed. He was becoming better and better every day to adjusting to his situation. Most of the time you couldn't even tell that he was blind. She smiled and glanced at his lips for a second before finally getting her hand out from his clutch.

"I said no sedatives. Why was I sedated?"

"You should ask your friend, he's the one who did it."

"Why did you let him?"

"I didn't want to butt in between you two. How was I about to know that that wasn't your thing?"

"Don't be an ass. Now we'll have to postpone our departure. I can't drive while being dizzy and drowsy."

"We'll leave in the morning. You'll have a whole night to get back in shape."

Catalina relaxed and closed her eyes, she was feeling quite tired, she needed sleep to recover. Sands remained with her until she fell asleep, then he went on the living room and opened his case. He felt around for his guns, his badge and passport. He made sure that everything was there, even some money that he had the inspiration to put aside, just in case. After trying to count the money, but not succeeding, he closed the case and laid down to take a nap. There wasn't much to do. He wasn't interested on listening to the TV and if Lin wasn't around to annoy and flirt with, he didn't have a reason to stay up. Of course it also meant that he didn't have to think about what he felt about Catalina and their situation. At least that's what he was hoping, but he couldn't stop a lustful thought form in his mind before finally falling asleep himself, and that thought lead to a wet dream.


	8. Cup of coffee, scary looking motel

Next day came fast. Lin woke up, confused at first, not knowing why she was in the bedroom, but then her head cleared out. She remembered and she realized that her shoulder was throbbing a little. She got out of bed and happily discovered that she wasn't dizzy anymore.

Sands was in the kitchen, trying to make coffee, muttering to himself. He heard Lin waking up and heading for the bathroom. He has slept on the couch all night and his back and legs were hurting, putting him in a foul mood.

"I smell coffee!" Catalina said entering the kitchen. She saw Sands standing next to the coffee pot, leaning on the counter, there was coffee spilled all over. At first she wanted to make a sarcastic comment about it, but observing Sands expression she changed her mind and didn't say anything.

She took a mug from the cupboard and headed for the coffee pot, pouring herself some steaming hot coffee.

"How the hell could you sleep on that stupid couch?!" Sands burst out, making Lin jump.

"I'm smaller than you." She answered, smiling stupidly. "Oh, sweet nectar, given by the gods, love of my life." She said after taking a sip from her coffee.

Sands looked surprised for a second, but then he smirked. "I have to say, you're the first woman who said this to me. I was called a lot of things, but never 'sweet nectar, given by the gods'."

"I was talking with the coffee, but if it makes you feel better, then you can ignore that and pretend that I was speaking to you. There's nothing wrong in fantasizing." Catalina answered after taking another sip from her mug.

"I don't buy that. I've never met anyone make a love declaration to a beverage."

"Just because you've never met anyone like me doesn't mean that people like me don't exist. I love coffee and I want it to know that. Coffee is always there for me, always warm and always helps me out. I think coffee should know that it's appreciated." Lin answered with a serious tone.

"You are certainly losing your marbles. It might prove a mistake from my part to have accepted your help." Sands said smiling.

"Have you thought that, maybe, I wouldn't have agreed to help you, especially after I got shot, if I wasn't a little bit unconventional?"

"Unconventional? That's how you call yourself? Unconventional?"

"Yep, I'm normal, they have me tested. So, are we leaving after breakfast? No offence, but I kind of want to get back to my normal life and you seem to attract a lot of 'situations'."

"No, we'll leave tonight. It's better to leave the town when it's dark outside. It's not gonna make a difference to me, but it will make it more difficult for others to follow us." He replied shaking his head slightly, while getting a cigarette from his pack and lighting it up.

"That's only if they don't already know about our departure. Or about the fact that I am helping you, or about what car I'm driving. Practically, leaving during night time will only be in our advantage only if they don't have us followed already." Catalina said more like a comment for herself, than a reply to his statement.

"Is there a reason you would think they are already following us?" Sands asked getting a little nearer to her.

"That's not what I said. No, I don't have any evidence of being followed, but it doesn't mean that I'm going to leave my guard down and act as if there is no threat." She answered her voice getting a little agitated to their bodies proximity, but not backing down.

* * *

The rest of the day, Lin packed up her bag, made sure everything was in order in the apartment and helped Sands to pack his stuff and count his money.

When the streets got dark, Catalina took the bags, with the clothes, the money, the fake ID-s and the guns and she headed for the car, closely followed by Sands. He was listening to her steps and guiding himself by the sound she made and the smell of her perfume.

He was so entranced by her smell and the pleasure it was giving him that he didn't realize when she stopped, slamming right into her. "Are your brakes broken?" Catalina asked snapping back to look at him.

"Sorry." He answered "Where's the car's door?"

She looked at him, one eyebrow raised, since when was he so polite with her. She shrugged and opened the car door, which helped Sands locating it and getting in the car.

"I'm going to have another look inside and lock up, then we'll leave."

She went back and took a tour of her apartment, she was having a feeling of ending, she felt like she was never going to come back here and it made her a little sad. She was also feeling sad because she knew that soon Sands we'll be out of her life, and even though she sometimes found him to be annoying and insensitive, she also liked him, he was smart and with a strange sense of humour and on top of that he didn't feel threatened by her, by her independence or her tough attitude.

She got out and locked the door, turned around still on the doorstep and looked at the agent in her car. The fact that he was attractive didn't help her current mood.

They were finally on the road. Lin was driving, not saying a word, Sands was dozing off, while music on a low volume was playing on the background. Each with his own thoughts and worries.

They were on the road for about six hours when a big rain storm made them stop and look for a motel.

"Where are we?" Sands asked while listening to the rain that was becoming more and more aggressive, the rain drops hitting the car's roof with so much power that it sounded like they were being attacked by bullets.

"Near San Lucas de Ocampo." Catalina answered distracted.

"Find a motel outside the city." Sands said, his tone sounding like an order.

"I did. We are in the parking lot of El Rincocito. It's just…Have you ever seen 'Vacancy'? It looks like that."

"Don't tell me you're afraid to get a room to this motel because of a horror movie you saw?"

"I'm not afraid, just not comfortable." Catalina said squirming in her seat.

"Don't worry, doll, I'll protect you." Sands replied mockingly.

"That's not comforting at all. Not the way you said it anyway. …. Right, I'll go inside and get a couple of rooms."

"Easy there, one room, not two. Remember the cover?"

"Right, I forgot about that. Can't we just be a fighting couple?"

"I never had the impression you were a prude. What's up with that?"

"Well …"

"Let me guess, it's about the movie. A couple gets to a motel and you're trying to break the cliché."

"There's always a couple, you know …"

"Stop being a baby, go and get us a room. I'm losing my patience here, sugar-butt."

Catalina sighed and got out of the car running through the rain to get inside the reception area faster, remembering that she read somewhere that you would get much more soaked if you ran through the rain, than if you walked. _No actually, that was not true. What was that guy saying?_ 'The optimal travel speed varies depending on how thin you are, the wind speed, raindrop size and the angle between your path and the wind direction. Certain combinations of these factors set an optimal travel speed, which may occasionally be slower than a flat-out sprint.' Right, I remember now. _Doesn't matter anymore, I'm already soaked through._

Catalina entered the building looking around. _This looks so much as a horror movie, it makes my skin crawl._

After talking with the man at the reception, brushing of his flirting and explaining that her husband was waiting for her she took the key to room fourteen and she ran back to the car to drive it closer to the room's entrance and help Sands out.

"I'll have you know that the guy at the reception is a creep. I can bet my money he's also a peeping Tom. We have room fourteen. Which I have to say is not comforting for me."

"Why? Too close to thirteen?"

"No, I'm good with thirteen, but fourteen was always an unlucky number for me. Anyway we're here. I'll get the bags inside then I'll come and get you."

"I'm not an invalid." He spat, turning towards her.

"You won't be able to hear me in this rain." She explained logically, before getting out of the car.

She ran with the bags inside and threw them on the dirty looking bed, then she went back outside, opening the door on Sands's side. "Let's go."

Sands got out, but pushed her hand aside. "Just lead the way, sugar, I want to look at your butt." He smirked, but there was a certain sadness in his voice.

"Stop being stubborn." She almost screamed at him and grabbed him by his arm.

"Fine then, but we'll do these my way." He said getting his arm out from her grip and moving it around her waist.

"You are annoying, we could have been inside by now, but no, you have to be impossible." Catalina said to him, but she started walking towards the room, nevertheless.

Sands smirked once more and he let his hand descend slowly from her waist to her butt, but before being able to actually feel her, they were inside and Lin pushed his hand away.

"Not without buying me dinner, sir." She said to him and then entered the small and ugly looking bathroom to change her clothes.

A long, humid and hot night was expecting them, the funny smell of the room wasn't helping either.


	9. Morning after, a little squeeze

When Lin got out from the bathroom, Sands was on the middle of the bed, taking apart his gun and cleaning it. She looked at him and she realized by the way his hands moved, with certainty and ease, that he has done that action before so many times that it became an automatism.

"The bathroom is free if you want to use it" she said to him, trying to contain a smile, knowing that he will be able to detect it in her voice. He didn't have to know the strange and powerful attraction he was casting over her, it was of the utmost importance that he wouldn't be able to figure out the effect he had on her because if he did, all would have been lost for her.

She went to the door and verified that it was locked, then she dragged the coffee table in front of it and took a glass and put it on the edge of the table so if someone would have opened the door, even if it would have been done slowly the glass would fall and brake on the floor.

"What are you doing?" Sands asked her, stopping his actions and turning his head towards her.

"I'm making sure that we won't be taken by surprise." She replied while moving to the window and checking the way it was opening.

"You really should stop watching horror movies if this is the effect they have on you." Sands chuckled.

"I'm not trying to ward off the boogie man, Sands. Unless my memory is failing, I've been shot before by some guys who were looking for you. Assuming that they are still looking for you and for me too, my actions are not excessive. I'm on neutral ground here, I have to make sure that I've got safety measures." She answered ranting, but keeping her voice down.

"I can assure you that I would hear anyone getting near the room. Calm down!"

"I am calm. And you wouldn't be able to hear anyone sneaking around, not with this rain on the background. Anyway, I'm done. Move over, I want to sleep." She said pulling at the blanket that he was sitting on. "I don't care about what you're doing, I want to sleep, I drove for six hours and I've got a bullet hole in my shoulder, I deserve some rest." She continued when she saw Sands opening his mouth, trying to fight with her.

"You are a pain in the butt." He said, but still moved to make room for her.

"I know you like me. Goodnight!" she whispered, getting under the blanket and turning her back to him, snuggling the pillow.

Sands smirked and then he continued putting his gun back together, listening her breath getting deeper.

* * *

"Wake up, princess!" Sands whispered urgently to Lin's ear.

She mumbled and pulled the blanket higher over her face. Sands shook her more vigorously, but she slapped his hand away and kept her eyes closed.

"That's it!" Sands said getting away from the bed and going in the bathroom, a few moments later he came out with a glass full of water, he stopped next to the bed and he threw all the water over Lin's sleeping form.

She shot up from under the blanket "I'm going to kill you Sands, a horrible death, a slow and painful death, you stupid fuck!"

"Keep your voice down, sunshine. We've got company." He snarled.

"What?" she asked, her voice lower. She ran at the window and peeked outside. Two cars that weren't there last night. In one of them there was only one guy on the passenger sit, in the other there were four men, looking ready to raise hell.

"One of the drivers is probably in the reception area. There are five men in the cars right now. We have no way out, without firing some rounds. Or maybe we do …."

"Let me guess, you've got a plan!?" Sands said with doubt seeping in his voice.

"I always have a plan, agent. Here, get this clothes on!" She answered shoving some clothes on his arms. She took her t-shirt and pants of herself and she started getting dressed.

"What are these?" Sands asked picking up the shirt as if he could see it and his fashion sense wasn't approving.

"For fuck sake, get dressed. All of the sudden you're Gok Wan." Lin answered, while getting a black wig on. She then turned around and started lifting his t-shirt. "You're like a toddler. Get moving!" she whispered in a threatening tone. She took out another wig and gave it to Sands. "Put this on! I assure you it's very much in style, Rachel."

"What exactly is your plan, sugar-butt? Getting dressed like some tourist and getting out from here as if we just stopped for a night? I thought you were a genius." Sands ignored Lin's comments and attacked her with incredulity.

"No. No tourist would stop here. Prostitutes with clients would." She answered him, ignoring herself the slight jab he made to her intelligence.

After they were both wearing new clothes, they slowly approached the door. Sands opened it and got out, his guns hidden under his jacket and ready to be used if case need be. Lin followed him, making sure to act a little tipsy, giving herself a reason to hold on to him and steer him in the right direction.

They continued they're walk, the men in the cars were looking at them, curiously, but they weren't making any move. They weren't reaching for their guns, nor did they seem to recognize them.

When Sands and Catalina got to the car, she looked one more time at the cartel cars. The men inside were gawking at her, but it was expected, she was wearing, after all a very short and slutty dress, the type of dress that wouldn't leave much for the imagination.

"Let's go!" Lin whispered to Sands. She was sure that at least for the moment her ruse worked.

Sands got in the car behind the wheel. It would look strange if the hooker would drive and the client would sit in the passenger seat, so they had to pretend till they were out of their followers eyes. Lin got on the passenger seat and sighed.

"It was your plan, you know! I would have chosen to fill them up with lead." Sands said annoyed at her lack of confidence in his ability to drive and the fact that he knew she had a good reason to feel this way made him even more irked.

"Just shut up and drive. You have to stick it in reverse first. Then …" her mood wasn't in a much better place, she felt like she was leaving too much to chance, that she was losing control.

"I know how to drive, I also remember the position you parked the car. You just be my eyes when we have to get out from the parking lot." He snapped back at her, the air in the car full with electricity stemmed from their anger and frustration with each other, but mostly with the situation they were in.

Sands start the car and reversed then changed the directions of the tires and drove as if he could actually see. Catalina was looking ahead to make sure that they wouldn't crash, but in the same time she was throwing glances behind to make sure that they weren't being followed.

"Take it right a little, there's a bush." She said drily.

"How much is a little?" Sands asked aggravated.

Lin sighed once more and she grabbed the wheel, turning it slightly. "I think it would be safer if I steer."

"Not if they can see your hand!" Sands growled with exasperation.

"They can't see my hand if I keep it here. Well they can but they'll assume I'm doing something else with it, not that I'm holding the wheel." Catalina answered calmly while moving her hand at six a clock on the stirring wheel. "You just take care of the pedals." She continued softly.

Even though he was vexing her she couldn't stop feeling a little sad for him. She shook her head slightly to try to make her thoughts go away and she fixated her eyes on the road.

They managed to get out on the road and continued until they reached at the entrance of San Lucas de Ocampo, there Sands stopped the car and they exchanged seats.

"Make sure we reach El Paso these time!" he said, a slight threat in his voice.

"Don't threaten me. It's not my fault it poured last night. Also, you should remember that what I'm doing here is volunteer work. I can as easily dump you out of the car and be on my merry way." Lin answered him while keeping her eyes on the road.

Sands didn't respond, he got himself a cigarette and lit it up, inhaling with lust. They sat in silence the next two hours, neither making any noise, until Sands turned to Lin "Why are we stopping?"

"I'm hungry, I need to pee and more importantly I really need coffee." She answered unhooking her seatbelt and turning around to the back of the car to get her purse and a jacket.

"Where are we?" he interrogated, pulling out another cigarette and lighting it.

"El Ciento Veinte." Catalina responded her voice muffled, all her torso being on the back of the car, her ass towards the windshield.

"So basically in the middle of nowhere?" he continued, turning his face towards where her head should be, but practically talking to her butt.

"Middle of nowhere with a small restaurant." She agreed. "I'm being nice." She added after taking a look at the building in front of her car.

"Oh, I know, believe me I know. We'll stay only for half an hour."

"We'll be done in fifteen minutes. We'll take some take away, eat on the road."

"Are you trying to get on my good side, sugar-butt?" he asked coking up an eyebrow a small smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

Lin smiled, but didn't answer. In fact she honestly believed that sooner they put some distance between them and any cartel members the better. She got out of the car and headed for the restaurant, but after a few steps she stopped realizing that he wasn't following her. She got back at the car on his side and opened the door.

"You're not coming?"

"No, I have some phone calls to make."

"Right. What should I take for you then? To eat."

"Whatever looks and smells good. Get some tequila too."

"Ok. I'll be back in fifteen minutes."

She closed the door and headed once more towards the dump she called earlier a restaurant. Her stomach was making funny noises and she was very looking forward to get some coffee in her system. She still had another eight hours of driving, she needed fuel.


End file.
